“Two recent studies suggest that the oft-touted educational benefits of [electronic] toys are illusory, and child development experts caution that kiddie electronics, even those bought purely for fun, can have negative side effects such as inhibiting creativity and promoting short attention spans.”
Tag: 12.22.06
Does “Messiah” Need A Well-Deserved Rest?
Joshua Kosman loves Handel’s “Messiah.” Really, he does. And that’s why he thinks maybe it might be time to put it on the shelf for a few Christmases. “I think it might be time to give the piece a short rest — if only so that we might have a chance to hear the music’s brilliance afresh. “Messiah” is too much with us, I suspect.”
San Francisco To Get Into The Skyscraper Sweepstakes
New plans envision a forest of towers that would dwarf the city’s iconic TransAmerica tower. The plan “envisions a cluster of thin towers rising from 2 acres at the northwest corner of First and Mission streets. The cluster would include two 1,200-foot towers, two 900-foot structures and a 600-foot companion.” The project is “the focus of a skyscraper design competition seeking what the guidelines describe as ‘an iconic presence that will redefine the city’s skyline.’ As many as a half-dozen teams are rumored to be putting together bids.”
Who Was Mavor Moore?
He was one of Canada’s most important cultural forces. “The endlessly energetic and multitudinously talented author, director, actor, producer, lyricist and composer, who died in Victoria, B.C. on Monday at the age of 87, always believed a story told from a Canadian point of view automatically had something special going for it.”
Canadian Theatre Cancels “Rachel Corrie”
Toronto’s Canadian Stage Company has canceled plans to stage the controversial “My Name is Rachel Corrie.” The company’s artistic director Michael Bragg says he just changed his mind. A possible alternative reason? “Members of Bragg’s board were alarmed by negative response from influential supporters of the theatre, especially in Toronto’s Jewish community, who were canvassed for their opinion.”
Philadephia Finds $68 Million To Keep Painting
A partnership of the city’s cultural leaders come together to match an offer for the Thomas Eakins work. “Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts would share ownership of the 1875 masterpiece. The two museums, which have led a frantic six-week fund-raising campaign to buy the huge canvas from Thomas Jefferson University, have agreed to take on a still-undetermined amount of debt and pay a record $68 million for what is widely viewed as an embodiment of the city’s intellectual and creative life.”
Reinventing The Christmas Franchise
Christmas is a tired brand. It’s been around a few years now, and needs a facelift. So a group of designers worked up a few new concepts. “The designers did their best, first identifying the three chief problems with the brand: it’s divisive, ugly and, of course, overcommercialized. Next they came up with a big idea to try to fix these problems. It was not to rename Christmas, exactly, but to streamline it by creating what might be thought of as an ‘overall umbrella brand’, one that sounded contemporary, hip and, most important, Internet-ready: x.mas.”
A Season Of Giving (But I Want To Choose)
Nara Schoenberg resents those stores that ask you to donate money to charity at the checkout. She prefers to give to charities of her own choosing. “Am I the only customer who is put off by the growing number of verbal requests for donations at the register this holiday season, with everyone from Borders to Babies “R” Us getting in on the action?”
Canadian Actors Preparing For Strike
The actors union ACTRA, which represents performers in movie and TV productions, is objecting to producers’ offers of :wage increases and the use of performances on the internet. ACTRA characterized as outrageous the producers’ offer of wage increases of zero per cent, zero per cent and 1 per cent for people working on Canadian productions. The union also said the producers maintained contract requirements that amount to demanding work from Canadian performers on the Internet for free.”
Stolen “Scream” Was Damaged
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” stolen in 2004 and recovered after two years, appears to have been damaged by water. “Water has been absorbed by one corner of the paper board, and there is abrasion damage on the lower part of the painting, We have a large swath that is very visible.”